


Now Old Friends

by halyc



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Friendship, Gen, Minor James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Minor Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, Multi, POV Lily Evans Potter, Remus Lupin & Lily Evans Potter Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-26
Updated: 2019-06-26
Packaged: 2020-05-20 08:32:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19373053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/halyc/pseuds/halyc
Summary: AU where Lily and Remus were slightly better friends, where Lily trusted Remus a little more, where Lily made her own decisions and knew better than to believe Remus would ever be the traitor.12 years ago Lily made Remus secret-keeper.  12 years ago Remus ran, disappearing to keep his friends safe.  It's time Lily brought him home.





	Now Old Friends

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first ever fanfiction, so I'm sure characterizations will be slightly off lol but hopefully it won't be too bad. I was thinking a lot about Lily, and I wondered why she went along with making Peter the secret-keeper when she had probably known Remus better, considering they had been prefects together. Then suddenly this happened. It's a little rambling and I wrote it in one sitting, so I hope it's alright.

Standing at the window of her home in Godric’s Hollow, Harry’s latest letter clenched tightly in her hand, feeling desperately and overwhelmingly alone, Lily Potter, formerly Lily Evans, had finally had enough. Enough of waiting, enough of excuses, enough of inaction. It was high time she remembered she was more than Harry Potter’s mother, more than James Potter’s wife. She was Lily goddamn Evans (Potter), and she had been sitting around feeling sorry for herself for far too long.

The day had started off normally enough. James had gone off to work as an auror, Lily had done some of her own freelancing, she had gone round to the shops for a bit, and had come home to Hedwig in the kitchen, a letter tied around her leg. Lily loved getting letters from Harry, loved hearing how he was doing, what trouble he was getting up to. She had snatched the letter up eagerly, her green eyes scanning it quickly, and her heart had dropped at the words.

_Mum_ , Harry had written, _There’s something I wanted to ask you. You see, I came across this map, and it said it had been made by Mssrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs. I know Padfoot and Prongs are Dad and Sirius, but who are the others? I didn’t want to ask Dad or Sirius cause I know they get sad sometimes talking about the past. Do you know?_

Lily had crumpled the letter in her hand, feeling tears well up in her eyes. Of course she knew, of course she did. She was so glad Harry had written to her - her son, and as much as she loved him she could absolutely admit this, could be remarkably unobservant. Had Harry written James - or even worse, Sirius - the two of them would have been maudlin for days.

Lily could still remember, those twelve years ago, when Dumbledore had told James and her that Voldemort was after them specifically, that they would have to go into hiding. Remembered what it was like, knowing there was a traitor amongst them, but not knowing who it was. Remembered how Peter, then Sirius, then even James, had turned, one by one, on Remus, poor Remus. Remus who was so secretive these days, Remus who was always gone on missions no one knew anything about, Remus who was growing more and more distant every day.

James insisted Sirius become their secret-keeper, when it became clear a Fidelius was necessary, and Sirius insisted it be Peter instead. While the boys fought about it like the great idiots they were, Lily thought about Remus. Thought about a kind, tired boy who had grown up into a kind, tired man. Thought about someone with a good heart, thought about someone who loved his friends. She thought about how she was Remus’ friend first, before she had even looked at James with anything but disdain. They had shared a love of muggle music, especially folk singers, and had bonded over it on their shared prefect patrols. They had even danced to a few of the records Remus’ folks had sent on their charmed record player in the common room. Remus had twirled Lily around, her red hair fanning out behind her, her head thrown back in laughter. James had always been unbearably jealous, and that had always made Remus smirk, and Lily laugh even more.

Lily trusted Remus implicitly. So, while the other Marauders were arguing like the great fools they were, Lily went down to Remus’ flat and waited for him to come home. Once he had she cast the Fidelius, and made Remus the secret-keeper with no one the wiser.

“Why, Lils?” Remus had asked, his voice heart-breakingly hopeful. “I know what James and Sirius and Pete think. I know…” he trailed off, unable to continue. Lily had leaned forwards then, and had placed her hands over his.

“I know you, Remus,” she had said, simple as that. “I know you.”

Remus was the sole secret-keeper, no one else, and so Lily had dragged him back to James to let him know where their house was. James had hid it well, but once Remus had left, James had been furious. He had finally agreed with Sirius, had finally decided to make Peter the secret-keeper, and Lily had gone behind his back. But as time passed, and Voldemort never found them, he came around, guilty and miserable for ever doubting his friend. And when the war was over, Dumbledore having hunted down all the horcruxes and defeating Voldemort, it came out that Peter was the traitor.  James had been physically ill when he heard that, Sirius even more so.

So many years had passed, and despite them scouring the lands for Remus, he was never found. It seemed he had taken their secret and run, running so far and so fast that no one would ever be able to find him, no one would ever be able to convince him to reveal the secret. The only proof they had that Remus was still alive was that the Fidelius still stood, and neither Lily or James could pass on the secret. Sirius still didn’t know where they lived, which, as the years passed, Lily and James started to find funny. As if it was a great joke, having the Fidelius up. As if it hadn’t come at the cost of Remus.

It had cost them Remus though, had cost her Remus. Harry had never known the man who would have been like another godfather slash uncle to him. James and Sirius never talked about him, except when they were miserably drunk. And Lily had lost a friend too, a dear friend. So many of her other friends had been lost to her in the war, and it broke her heart knowing that it was by her actions that Remus was gone.

But life and the world moved on, and with every year that Remus didn’t turn up, they looked less and less until they finally stopped looking all together. Lily was ashamed of herself. It shouldn’t have taken a letter from her son to make her remember Remus, it shouldn’t have taken this much time to make her realize she needed to do something. She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders, turning away from the window and tossing her long red hair dramatically over her shoulder. She grabbed a quill and some paper and penned a quick response for Harry.

_Harry darling_ , she wrote, _You were right to write me. I’ve been a poor friend, and it’s about time I got off my sorry arse and did something about it - sorry about the language darling, don’t tell your father. Moony and Wormtail were friends of your dad and Sirius while they were in Hogwarts, and Moony - Remus - is a dear friend of mine as well. He’s been keeping us safe all these years, and it’s time he comes home. I’ll be gone for a while darling, but I’ll try to be home for the Christmas hols. We’ve failed Remus for too long. I have to make this right. Lot’s of love, Mum_.

She paused in her writing for a moment before sighing and hastily scribbling a post script. _PS darling_ , she added, _don’t worry about Wormtail. He’s a miserable rat. You can ask your dad about that if you’d like, but maybe wait until I’m back. It isn’t a happy tale_. With a decisive nod she set her quill down, blew on the ink to dry it, and tied the letter to Hedwig’s leg and sent her off. She then conjured up her Patronus and sent it off to James.

“I’m going to find Remus,” she told the silvery doe Patronus to tell James. “It’s been long enough. I’m bringing him home.”

.

Bringing Remus home, it turned out, was easier said than done. They had looked for years, after all, coming up with nothing, and it wasn’t as though there had been any new leads. But Lily had never been one to give up before, and she wasn’t about to start now. They had searched practically all of Europe, and most of Asia. Sirius had even gone to Australia one year, and had returned complaining about the wildlife. Lily and James had laughed at him about that, and had told him to mention it to Hagrid, as it sounded like his ideal sort of vacation spot.

Lily decided to start looking in Wales. She made her way to the Lupin cottage, where Remus had grown up, and where Lyall Lupin still lived.

It was a small cottage, somewhat run down, but the gardens were still lovingly tended, and the porch was welcoming, with a large bench seat where Lyall was sitting. He was an old man, and he looked how Lily imagined Remus would one day look. He was smoking a pipe as he watched her approach, an inscrutable expression on his face. Lily had never actually spoken to Lyall before, and she felt even worse. She had been the cause of his son’s disappearance, and yet she hadn’t even had the decency to look him up? She wondered if she even deserved to still call herself Remus’ friend - she wondered if she had ever deserved that. She knew she could be stubborn, she knew she could sometimes get caught up in single-minded focus, but Lily had always tried her best to be a good person. For the most part she was. But she’d had Harry to raise, and James to worry over, and a million other reasons not to look for Remus that felt more like excuses right now, walking towards his aged father.

“Hello, Mr. Lupin,” she greeted, somewhat cautiously. Lyall took a long puff from his pipe, and eyed Lily, up and down before slowly exhaling.

“Lily Potter?”

Lily nodded rapidly, and stepped up to the first step of the porch. She lifted her foot to begin walking, but she found herself letting her foot hover, unsure if she should go any further. Lyall raised a single eyebrow, so similar to how Remus used to, and Lily felt her heart clench.

“Well come on then,” Lyall said gruffly. “Have a sit.” He gestured to the space on the bench beside him, and Lily made her way over, sitting next to him. They sat there in silence for a moment, Lily somewhat uncertain, Lyall puffing away.

“Have you come about Remus then?” he asked. He glanced at Lily out of the corner of his eye and sighed deeply. “Only, I can’t think of any other reason why you’d come to see me.”

“I’ve come about Remus,” Lily confirmed. “It’s about time he came home.”

Lyall laughed at that, a sharp hoarse bark. It sounded as though he hadn’t laughed in a while.

“Well you’re right about that,” he said. “What a damn stubborn boy, eh?”

Lily smiled. “Right pig-headed, sir.”

“Oh none of that,” he grumbled. “Just call me Lyall.” He rose up to his feet and nodded at her. “Wait here, just a mo’.”

He slowly hobbled off, and Lily remained on the bench. She looked out at the rolling green fields that stretched out before her. She thought of Remus, young, growing up here. She wondered if he had ever run around in these fields. She would have, when she was young, but Remus had never really been young. He had always carried such a burden on his shoulders. Not like Lily, who had been a carefree child, running around with Severus and Petunia. Things had been so much simpler then. But times changed, and people did too. Lily had changed. She wondered how much Remus had changed. She wondered if she would still recognize him. She wondered if he would still recognize her.

She wondered if he missed these rolling green fields.

Lyall came back after a moment, sitting next to Lily once again. In his hands he held an envelope, the edges somewhat worried, as though Lyall held this envelope often, wondering whether or not he should open it. He flipped it over, and there on the front Lily could see her name, written in a familiar scrawling handwriting. Her heart clenched again.

“He came here one day, during the war. He told me to give you this, if you ever came looking. Only give it to Lily, he told me. Over and over, he repeated it. Only Lily.” Lyall sighed, and closed his eyes. “Your husband came looking. Asking if I knew where Remus was. That Sirius Black came looking. Asking if I knew where Remus was. Dumbledore himself even showed up once, and I damn near gave him the thing, but I didn’t. Only Lily, my boy had told me, had made me promise. So I told them all the same thing - I don’t know where Remus is.”

Lily hung her head, guilt welling up inside of her. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “I should have...I should have come sooner.”

Lyall was silent, and Lily looked up through the curtain of her hair, and saw him staring out at the fields. He had seemed inscrutable before, but he was easier to read now, up close where she could see how he held himself the same way Remus did, how he moved his head like Remus and worried his hands like Remus. He looked like a man who was tired. He looked like a man who missed his son.

“Don’t be sorry,” he said eventually, his voice quiet. “When he showed up that night, he looked so frantic, so desperate, but so happy.” Lyall looked over at him, his gaze sharp, piercing, his eyes wrinkled, and tired, and so much like Remus. “He was so happy you trusted him.”

“Of course I trusted him,” Lily replied. “It’s Remus.”

The corner of Lyall’s mouth twitched upward. “Aye,” he agreed, pressing the envelope into her hands. “So it is.”

“I’ll bring him home,” Lily promised. Lyall nodded sharply and rose to his feet, clasping his hand on her shoulder and squeezing tightly for a moment before walking inside without another word. Lily knew he was giving her space, and knew as well he wouldn’t be coming back out.

She turned the envelope over a few times. It was still sealed, and she marvelled at Lyall’s restraint. Had it been Harry who was gone and she who was waiting, she wasn’t sure she would have been able to not open it, to not look. She took a deep breath, and gently pried it open, pulling the old letter inside out.

_Lils_ , it started, in Remus’ scrawl. _If you’re reading this, it means you’re safe. I’m glad. I’ve been thinking of where to go, where the Death Eaters might not think to look, and I’ve decided on the place. I probably shouldn’t be writing this, but I wanted to say thank you. Thank you for trusting me. I know the others didn’t, and I can’t say I’m not mad at them for it, even though I understand why they feel the way they do. It’s been so lonely without all of you. Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone? I’ll still be without all of you now, but at least I’ll be less lonely knowing I have your trust. Give Harry my love. Give James and Sirius and Pete my love, those bastards, and give yourself my love too. Remus_.

A drop of water hit the letter, and then another, and Lily thought it was raining for a moment before she realized she was crying. She ducked her head and held the letter tight against her chest, hugging it close and wishing she was hugging Remus instead.

She rose up from the bench and started walking, making her way into those rolling green fields, leaving the Lupin cottage behind her. She could feel Lyall’s eyes on her as she walked away, but she didn’t look back, only forward. Maybe Remus had played in these fields as a child, but he hadn’t been here in twelve years. There were only ghosts behind. The future was ahead, and so was Remus.

.

At a seedy pub in Cardiff, Lily sat alone, nursing a firewhisky and contemplating her next move. She had read Remus’ letter over and over, but had found no answers. Something about it was nagging at her, like a word was at the tip of your tongue. She knew it, but she couldn’t think of it. There was a clue there, in that letter. She knew it. She just couldn’t place it, couldn’t fit it all together.

She downed the rest of her firewhisky and made her way back up to her room. It was a magical pub, which had the upside of her being able to sit at a table alone casting spells on a piece of paper, hoping something would be revealed, but it had the downside of people recognizing her, and there was nothing she wanted less right now than being forced into pleasant small talk.

She had received a letter from James a few nights ago, a sad little note tied to their owl Mitch’s leg, begging her to come back, to let him know if she had made any progress, to let him come along, to join her.

_He was my friend too_ , James had written. _I miss him too_.

Lily knew that, of course she knew that, but she had to do this on her own. She had asked Remus to be their secret-keeper. It fell to her to bring him home.

Harry had replied to her as well, Hedwig showing up with a lovely little note from her darling boy. _Mum, I don’t really get what’s going on_ , he had written, and she’d had to stop there, her heart cracking a little. But Harry had written more, and so she read on. _But I think I get why you’re doing this. I think it’s the right thing to do, going to get your friend. If it was Ron or Hermione, I’d do the same thing_.

Her darling boy indeed, she thought, his letter making Lily smile. So many people looked at Harry and saw James. He looked just like James, was confident just like James, loved Quidditch just like James. But Lily knew better, knew her son better, and knew that he had always been more like her, had been the better version of her. The two of them understood each other, they always had. Harry loved his father, loved Sirius, but Lily had always thought he would have adored Remus.

Her room wasn’t very quiet, the sounds of the pub below filtering up through the floors. The music had been louder earlier, the Weird Sisters blaring out, drowning out any chance of conversation. But the music had gone quieter now, and Lily glanced at her watch. Closing time. Lily sat down on her bed and lay back, staring up at the ceiling, Remus’ letter clenched in her hand. She should write James and apologize. He was a good man, a wonderful father and a wonderful husband and she loved him dearly. He deserved better than this. She should write Harry. She should write Sirius. She knew how much Sirius had loved Remus, knew how guilty he had felt when he realized Remus hadn’t been the traitor. There were so many things she should do. She missed home terribly. She missed Godric’s Hollow, she missed going to the shops, she missed their little house. She missed her freelance potions making, she missed James coming home from work and giving her a kiss, she missed Sirius demanding they all go out for dinner, as he couldn’t bloody find their house. She missed meeting up with her friends, what few still remained, and catching up on life, talking about things other than the war.

_It’s life's illusions I recall_ , the music from downstairs drifted up to reach her ears, _I really don’t know life at all_. Lily smiled. She and Remus had loved Joni Mitchell. She remembered Sirius rolling his eyes at them, telling them to listen to punk instead, but the two of them had laughed him off. She remembered spinning around in the common room, drunk on smuggled in firewhisky, poorly belting out the lyrics to Big Yellow Taxi.  That had been their favourite song of hers.

It was strange, she thought, that a wizarding establishment would play a muggle song. But she supposed times had changed. For all she knew, a muggleborn ran the place. Or maybe they just liked the song. It was a great song.

She sighed and lifted the letter up once more. A single phrase jumped out at her: _Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone_. Joni Mitchell, Lily realized. That’s a Joni Mitchell lyric.

Lily was an idiot.

It had been their seventh year, and it was just the two of them still up, unable to sleep, Remus because of the impending full moon, Lily because of her brain refusing to stop thinking of the upcoming war, of how their time at Hogwarts was running out, how they would all go fight and possibly die soon. How she was a target, just because of the way she had been born. They weren’t saying anything, just sitting together in silence, both of them staring moodily into the fire. Lily had felt like crying then, she was so scared. She was already so tired of fighting, and she hadn’t even started, not really, though there were times she felt as though she had been fighting ever since she first arrived at Hogwarts. No one had ever told her she would be hated there, no one had ever told her people would discriminate against her because of her birth. But, Lily supposed, how do you tell an eleven year old about prejudice in the magical community? Lily glanced over at Remus, the firelight making the faint scars on his face shine silver, made his light brown hair look almost gold. He glanced back at her, and quirked his mouth in a tired smile. Remus had known prejudice in this world too.

“I had wanted to travel, after graduating,” Lily said, trying to get her mind off such miserable subjects.

Remus blinked. “Really?”

Lily nodded.

“Where?”

Lily thought about that for a moment. “I’m not sure. Italy maybe? I’ve never been.”

“Me neither,” Remus replied. “Rome would be cool, wouldn’t it?”

Lily grinned. “With a name like Remus, you definitely have to go see Rome.”

Remus barked out a laugh at that, startled and sharp. He shook his head fondly. “I dunno,” he said eventually. “Might be kind of cool to go somewhere unexpected.”

Lily frowned at that. “What, like Albania?”

“Albania?”

Lily shrugged. She remembered Severus saying he had wanted to go there once, years ago, back when they were still friends. The thought of Severus made her heart ache, and she tried to shove the memory aside.

“I’m sure Albania would be interesting,” Remus continued once it became clear Lily wasn’t going to say anything, “but I guess I was thinking of going somewhere the others wouldn’t think of going.”

Lily blinked at him. “Why?”

Remus shrugged. “I dunno. It’s just one of those things, isn’t it? Setting of on your own, going on a great adventure?”

“But you’d be alone,” Lily insisted. “You should at least take me with you, especially since I was the one who first said I wanted to go travelling.”

Remus laughed. “James would love that.”

“All the more reason to go!” Lily insisted, grinning wickedly. “It’ll drive Sirius spare too,” she waggled her brows at him. Remus raised his eyebrow at her, devastatingly disdainful, but Lily didn’t relent, and eventually he cracked, a grin and a flush spreading across his face.

“We should just spin a globe,” Lily said, “and then stop it with our finger and go wherever we’ve landed.”

Remus smiled at that, his eyes lighting up, and he flicked his wrist, transfiguring a spare quaffle someone had left in the common room into a globe. It wasn’t very detailed, but the continents were all there, and Remus held it out to Lily. She grinned widely, feeling somewhat giddy, and spun it. Round and round it went, faster and faster, until she jammed her finger onto it. The two of them peered at the globe, and Lily frowned at it.

“Canada?”

Remus smiled slightly. “Hey, you chose it.”

Lily squared her shoulders, and looked right into Remus’ eyes, her green-eyed gaze meeting his golden-brown gaze. “We’ll go to Canada,” she declared, “And we’ll love it. Joni Mitchell’s from there, after all.”

“Maybe we’ll go see a tree museum,” he laughed.

They sat there together, basking in the light of the fire, silent for a moment longer. Lily reached over and grasped his hand, squeezing it for a moment before letting go.

“Once the war’s over,” she whispered, “and we’ve won and we’re all safe. You and me. We’ll go to Canada. We’ll go see Joni’s homeland.”

“Once the war’s over,” Remus agreed. “Though I’m not sure I know where in Canada Joni’s from.”

Lily huffed out a little sigh at that. “So pessimistic, Remus,” she mock-scolded him. “We’ll just go to the capital city, and figure it out from there. Promise?”

“Promise,” he replied, the two of them shaking on it.

She had been so happy, that night, laughing and making impossible plans with Remus. She hadn’t even thought of it since then, so caught up in the war and her wedding and then Harry. But Remus had remembered, had held onto that all those years.

“We’ll go to the capital city,” Lily whispered, alone in her dingy room above a seedy pub, the muffled warblings of Joni Mitchell filling her ears. “Promise.”

She couldn’t help it then, she started laughing, and laughing, and laughing, a great rush and release of emotions. There are only two things you could do when you felt overwhelmed like that - you could laugh, or you could cry. After the war, with all of the funerals and memorials, Lily had felt like she had cried for a lifetime. She’d rather laugh now, always, no matter how hysterical, no matter how desperate it sounded. She still felt like an open wound some days, and tears were salty. Everyone knew salt water burned against open wounds.

“Oh Remus,” she said, when she had finally calmed down, her voice ringing through her empty room. “You sentimental fool.”

.

It was freezing in Ottawa, Canada’s capital city. Lily was very sure that there was no way Remus was here - he couldn’t live in this cold, she refused to believe it. And yet, being there, breathing in so deeply the cold air hurt her lungs, it felt right, so right. She felt closer than she ever had. She hurried to a hotel, where she could find room and write James and Harry, let them know she was alright. She had sent a quick note to James before she had left, letting him know where she was going, that she thought she was close, but asking him to let her do this on her own. She was trusting James not to just show up, was trusting him to trust in her to do this.

_Jamie-love_ , she wrote, once she was settled in her hotel room, _it’s bloody freezing here. But I think this could be it. I think I’m close. Buggered if I know how to track him down here, but I’ll come up with something. I’m sending you half my love, and Harry the other half, and sending none to Sirius, that great sulking beast, and you can tell him I said that. I love you, my darling._ She sealed the letter with a kiss, a ridiculous sentiment but she couldn’t help herself - she hadn’t been away from James for so long in such a long time, and she missed the great fool dearly. She tapped away the disillusionment charm from off Mitch’s cage and tied the letter to his foot, sending him off.

Sirius hadn’t written her the whole time she had been gone, and she understood why. He was terrified, both of her coming home with Remus, and of her coming home without Remus. The small, ridiculous romantic part of her hoped Remus hadn’t found someone, hadn’t started some new life here, that he would be thrilled to come home and that he and Sirius would work things out. She was so worried their story would be a tragedy. They deserved a happy ending.

Though now that she was thinking of it, Lily wondered if that was the reason Remus hadn’t come home, if he had a life here, if he was just so happy he didn’t want to go back to the people who had turned on him, the people who had used and abused his trust and friendship. Was it wrong of her to show up and interrupt his new life? Was it wrong of her to dredge up the ghosts of his past? If he had moved on, shouldn’t she let him? But she didn’t know if he’d moved on, and it wasn’t wrong to let him know there were still people thinking of him, that there were still people looking for him, even if they were late. Besides, the small, ridiculous romantic part of her whispered, those two were so in love.

They really had been in love. Lily still remembered the night she realized they were actually together. It was not long after her and James had gotten engaged. They’d had a few people over for dinner and drinks, like real adults, like people who weren’t desperately fighting in a war. She had gone out to the backyard to find the two of them and let them know James was looking for them, and she had found them standing close together, sharing a cigarette. The light in the backyard illuminated their faces, and Lily blinked as she watched Sirius smile softer than she had ever seen him smile before, his normally steely gaze adoringly tracing the shape of Remus’ face. Remus took a drag from the cigarette and then handed it back to Sirius, and Sirius took the cigarette and grabbed Remus’ hand, pressing a kiss into those bony knuckles.

Lily had turned away then, deciding to give them a moment more. Love was important in a time of war, impractical though it may be. You needed something to give you a reason to fight, but more than that you needed something to give you a reason to come home.

Remus and Sirius had been that reason for each other for a while, before Peter’s poisoned words and the stress of wartime got to them, drove a wedge between the two of them. Lily knew how horribly Sirius felt, and she could only imagine how horribly Remus felt. There was nothing worse than still being in love with someone and knowing that you had let the world drive you apart. It was especially awful when you were a Gryffindor, as stupid as that sounds. Gryffindors were combative types, the sort of people who were hardwired to fight for the things they believed in. It must have hurt Remus so much, to have felt as though he wasn’t worth fighting for, to have felt as though they no longer believed in him.

Lily clenched her fists and nodded. It didn’t matter how bloody cold Ottawa was. She was going to go find Remus right now, and prove to him that she had believed in him, that she was fighting for him. Heedless of the bitter cold, Lily marched to the Canadian Ministry of Magic. She would start there, see if she could find anything that could even remotely pass as a lead, and then she would go from there. She would not rest until she had found Remus, even if it meant she had to scour the entire country.

.

The Canadian Ministry of Magic proved to be mostly useless. To be fair to them, she had gone in without much of a plan, running on sheer single-minded determined stubbornness and little else. She supposed she likely could have come up with a better way of finding out information than going up to just about every person and asking if they had ever met a Remus Lupin.

She had eventually been pointed to the Hall of Records, as it apparently contained information on every witch and wizard living in Canada, and she had spent much of the day browsing through that. It hadn’t provided any answers, but there was more to sift through, and so Lily was determined to go back the next day, no matter how many strange looks the small witch who sat at the front desk there shot her.

There were two owls waiting for her when she got back, Mitch and Hedwig. She grabbed Hedwig’s first, thrilled as ever to hear from Harry. It was short and sweet, and Lily loved it.

_Mum, I hope the search is going well. I got a letter from Sirius telling me about Remus. He sounds brilliant. I hope you find him. Sirius said he was my other godfather, and that he was the best at DADA. I wish he’d come teach me, the professor this year is pants. Dad said the curse should be broken, but maybe it’s just a hard position to fill. Maybe the type of people who get good at Defense aren’t the type of people to stay in one place for very long_. Lily laughed at that. He was probably right about that. She penned a quick reply to Harry, and the wheels in her head were turning, wondering if maybe the Defense position was always open because it was waiting for the right man to fill it. The only man Lily knew who was brilliant at defense and yet was also perfectly content with wearing thick sweaters and reading books inside all day. But those weren't thoughts for now, they were thoughts for when Remus was back with them.

She reached for Mitch, and saw two letters tied to his legs. Lily gave him a few extra treats for carrying that extra load, and he nipped at her fingers, somewhat testy. Lily rolled her eyes at him and opened up the first letter, from James.

_Lovely-Lily_ , he had started, a good start, a start that left Lily feeling optimistic. _I get it. I’m sorry I didn’t before, love, but to be fair to me I was taken rather by surprise. I wish we’d talked about this, but I’m not completely daft so I know you’d be doing this no matter what I said. It’s a good thing, you’re doing. I know you’re feeling guilty, not looking sooner, but you can’t blame yourself. Our mistakes don’t define us, so long as we do our best to make them right. You told me that, remember? I love you, Lils, and I miss you terribly, and when you find Moony give him a big sloppy kiss right on the lips and tell him it was from me. I promise, I won’t be jealous, though the same can’t be said for Padfoot, that wanker. He’s written up a letter of his own for you, and he’s threatened to hex me if I read it. Send it back with Mitch, would you? I’m desperate to know what he wrote. All my love, your James_. Lily couldn't help it, she was impossibly charmed once again by her husband. He was such a good man. He had his flaws, and he’d made his mistakes, but the same could be said for her. She pressed a kiss to his letter, and little sparks flew from it, small fireworks going off. She laughed, and shook her head. She loved his flair for the dramatic, not that she’d ever tell him that, not with his great ego.

Mitch tapped her fingers again, and held his leg out. Lily sighed and set James’ letter down, untying the one from Sirius and opening it warily.

_Lily_ , the letter read in Sirius’ beautiful, perfect calligraphy. She had been so jealous of his handwriting when they were younger, the ease with which he wielded a quill made her feel clumsy, her fingers far more used to the practicality of pens. James had told her, years later, how Sirius’ mother had drilled him in calligraphy, how she had cast stinging hexes at his hands if he made a mistake. Lily hadn’t been so jealous then. _Please find him, the letter continued. I used to be afraid of him coming home, but I’m a bloody Gryffindor. It’s about time I start being brave, don’t you think? Bring him home to me, if you don’t mind. And tell him this, from me: I love you, and I’m sorry. Tell him I don’t expect anything back, I just wanted him to know_.

It was a brave thing, to let yourself be vulnerable, to give someone the power to hurt you, especially when you were raised in the sort of home Sirius was raised in. Sirius was so handsome, and so wealthy, and so impossibly charming, Lily had always thought he hadn’t known any hardships, had for so many years thought him nothing more than a great bully. He had been a bit of a bully when he was a kid, but he was more than that, much more than that. People were always more than just one thing, and Lily hated how often it took the perspective of hindsight and adulthood to realize that. She thought of Severus again, of how unwilling she had been to forgive him, to give him another chance. He had played double agent, had turned against Voldemort, had eventually made the right decision. She had often told herself it was too late, that she was glad he had done the right thing but it was too late for things to be repaired between them. Maybe that was true, and maybe it was for the best that they didn’t speak anymore, but she hadn’t even tried.

Sirius was trying, with Remus. James was trying with Remus. She was trying with Remus. She remembered all those times Severus had shown up outside the Gryffindor common room, and she had ignored him, furious and humiliated and oh-so hurt, unwilling to forgive. She remembered the time James told her about what Sirius had done to Severus, to Remus. She could remember that time, how furious James was with Sirius, how quiet and withdrawn Remus was, how Severus had cornered her, telling her to keep away from Remus. Remus had forgiven Sirius for that, Lily realized. She had never really thought about that before, what that must have taken for him to do, how hard it must have been. She sighed, and closed her eyes. Maybe it was time, she thought, that she tried to be a little more like Remus.

She picked up a quill and some new parchment, and scribbled out three letters. One to James, that told him of her progress and refusing to tell him what Sirius had said, one for Sirius, telling him that she would bring Remus home, and one final one, short and cathartic.

_Severus_ , it read, _I wanted to say - I forgive you, for everything that happened all those years ago. I hope you can forgive me too. You were a dear friend, and I’m glad I had you. I hope you have found happiness now, and I hope you don’t begrudge me for finding my own_.

.

The next day at the Canadian Ministry had started out just as fruitless as the previous. Lily couldn’t find anything in those blasted records, and the longer she spent there, the more convinced she was that there was nothing to find.

“Damn it!” she exclaimed, slamming another book shut. She buried her head in her hands and took a few deep breaths. This was fine, it was just a temporary roadblock. She took a deep breath and steeled her nerves, reaching for another heavy, boring tome.

“Alright Remus,” she muttered. “Let’s see if I can’t figure you out.”

“Excuse me?”

Lily jumped, and looked up to see the witch from the front desk peering down at her. She had curly blonde hair and wide brown eyes, and her face was somewhat sour, as though she were doing something she desperately didn’t want to. Lily sighed.

“Sorry about the noise,” she muttered. “Didn’t realize I was being so loud.”

The witch’s face twitched a little at that. “I don’t really care about that,” she said dismissively. “I just wanted to ask, this man you’re looking for…” she trailed off, looking somewhat conflicted. “Well, you know, is he, uh...what is he to you?” Her gaze darted to Lily’s wedding ring and then back at Lily’s face.

“Oh!” Lily exclaimed. “No, nothing like that, not like he’s some deadbeat husband whose buggered off! He’s a friend of mine. He...well, he saved my life, and I just want to find him. Bring him home.”

The witch nodded slowly, the sour expression on her face fading as she did. “What if he doesn’t want to go back with you?”

Lily chewed on her lip, eyes narrowed. This woman was looking for some sort of answer, Lily realized. There was something this woman wanted to hear. Lily was half-tempted to tell her to go away, but there was a part of her that was insisting that this woman could be important. Lily sighed. Any potential ally over here could only be a good thing.

“If he doesn’t want to come back,” Lily said slowly, deciding to be honest, “then I won’t make him. I suppose I just want to see if he’s alright, and tell him thanks.”

It didn’t feel like enough, just saying thanks, but Lily couldn’t think of how else to put it. The witch stared at her for a few moments, her wide brown eyes unblinking and unsettling. Lily stared back, not backing down, and eventually the witch nodded, a small smile spreading across her face.

“Alright,” she said. “That’s good to hear.” She paused then, looked like she had something more to say, but didn’t say anything, walking away instead, back to her desk. Lily watched her go, suspicious. She had a feeling this woman knew something. Lily looked down at her tome, and opened it with a sigh, not reading it so much as making a show of reading it. She could feel the woman’s eyes on her, and Lily did her best to act naturally. She packed it in not too much later, and as she passed the woman’s desk she nodded at her, smiling slightly. She glanced at the woman’s nameplate - Donna Gagnon.

“My name is Lily, by the way,” she said, and paused to see how Donna reacted. Donna nodded slowly, her eyes narrowed. Lily nodded again, and feeling a bit foolish, turned and walked off.

She went downstairs and milled around the entrance to the Ministry for a while before approaching someone, trying to come up with some sort of plan.

“Excuse me,” she called out to the young looking wizard. “But you wouldn’t happen to know a Donna Gagnon, would you? Only I’m supposed to be meeting her and…” Lily trailed off, doing her best to look confused, or worried. The wizard smiled at her, kindly.

“Good old Donna,” he laughed a little. “She’ll be up in the records hall. She’s a hard-worker, stays late most nights.” He grinned conspiratorially, and Lily did the same, nodding her thanks and walking off. It seemed Donna was well-liked, which meant she probably wasn’t usually quite as upfront and suspicious as she had been around Lily, which meant she had something to hide from Lily. Lily spent the rest of the day wandering aimlessly about, asking a few other people about Donna and getting the same response, and waiting for the end of the regular work day.

Once she spotted people filing out of the Ministry in droves, she waited for one more hour before marching back in and heading straight for the Records Hall. Sure enough, there Donna was, hunched over her desk, and scribbling something down on a piece of paper. Lily strode forwards and slammed her hands down on the desk, on either side of Donna’s paper, and leaned in closely. Donna’s head jerked up and her already wide eyes widened even further, giving her the distinct look of a baby deer caught in headlights.

“Uh,” Donna managed to get out before Lily shook her head.

“No way,” Lily said. “You’re hiding something from me. Considering I don’t know you, I can’t imagine what it could be, except that you’re uncommonly interested in why I’m looking for Remus.”

Donna continued to look spooked for a moment before she clenched her jaw and lifted her chin, defiant. Lily glowered at her, and Donna glowered right back. Lily, much to her chagrin, broke first. She was a first rate glowerer back home, usually able to break Harry and James with a single glance. But Lily was exhausted, and a little heartsore, and Donna was a formidable opponent. There was something in the thinning of her lips and the tilt of her chin that reminded Lily of Professor McGonagall, and once she’d realized that there was no way Lily wasn’t going to back down. She pulled away from Donna and took her hands off the desk, sighing and slumping a little.

“I’m sorry,” she said, “I just...please, if you know anything about where Remus is, anything at all, please. Please tell me.” Donna stared at her for a moment longer before sighing heavily.

“I’m sorry too,” she said. “It’s just...well...Remus was so lonely when I first met him.”

Lily’s heart started racing. Her lungs felt tight, and she breathed in sharply, trying to fill them.

“So you do know Remus?”

Donna nodded, and looked down at her hands, worrying them together nervously.

“Yeah. Met him about five years back. He was so thin, and he was living all alone in this miserable apartment, and there was just something about him...I don’t know…”

“Something that just made you want to take care of him?” Lily asked, with a soft smile. Donna looked back up at her, slightly surprised, before laughing a little and conjuring up a chair for Lily to sit on.

“That’s right,” Donna smiled. “That’s exactly right.”

“He’s always been like that,” Lily told her, somewhat conspiratorially, leaning forward and looking at Donna with bright eyes. “I’ve known him since we were eleven, and I just wanted to wrap him up and keep him safe, even then.” Lily grinned at Donna then, and the two of them laughed together.

“He told me about what happened,” Donna said eventually. “About the war, about him protecting your secret.”

Lily nodded. “He’s a hero.”

“More than that, though, isn't it?” Donna shrugged. “He’s a friend.”

“He is. He’s always been a good friend.”

He had always been a good friend, even when he hadn’t always been a good person. Lily remembered all the times she resented him for never standing up to James and Sirius, all the times she wished he’d take his prefect duties more seriously. She remembered all the times she had been so desperately grateful for his friendship, all the times he had been there, a solid shoulder where she could rest her head. She remembered how much he cherished his friends, how afraid he was to lose them. She remembered how heartbroken he was to realize James and Sirius thought him the traitor, she remembered how honoured he had looked when she had asked him to be the secret-keeper, how touched he had looked when she had told him that she knew him.

It was a terrifying thing, being known by someone, but it was a wonderful thing too. To be known by someone, and to still have them love and trust you was the greatest gift anyone could be given. For all her mistakes, Lily had given Remus that, and she would give him that again, over and over, a million times, because he deserved it.

“I miss him terribly,” Lily confessed.

“He misses you too,” Donna replied.

They sat there together for a while, and Lily shook her head and laughed.

“What are the odds, that I managed to find you? I asked so many people and no one knew who he was, but everyone told me to look here, and here you are.”

That made Donna smirk. “It’s almost like magic.”

“Ha!” Lily exclaimed. “I guess it is, isn’t it?”

.

Donna told Lily to meet her the next day, that Donna would go home and talk to Remus, see if he wanted to talk to Lily, and if he agreed, then Donna would take her to him. Lily hadn’t been able to sleep that night, too giddy, too afraid. What if Remus said he didn’t want to see her? She had been half tempted to write another letter to James and go hunt down another owl just so she could send it right away, but she figured it would be best if she waited.

She wondered if Remus would be different now. Would he still like the same songs? Would he still have the same accent? Would he sound like a Canadian now? She wondered if he had any other friends, besides Donna. She seemed like a nice sort, Lily supposed. Did Remus like Donna better than he liked Lily? Was it petty that she even wondered that?

She had been so jealous of Remus’ friendship before, of his easy camaraderie with the other Marauders. Lily had had so few friends for a few years, for so long it had been just her and Sev, but then she had started getting along with the other girls in her year, had started getting along with Remus. After everything that had happened with Severus, after the other girls rallied around her, Lily had grown closer and closer to Remus. They had always been friendly, but then they were friends. Before she knew it, Remus was her best friend. But she wasn’t sure she was his. Those four boys had been inseparable, and it took so little for them to pull Remus away from her.

It wasn’t until the day of her wedding, when Petunia hadn’t shown up and Lily was sobbing in her dress, Marlene freaking out because Lily was ruining her make-up, that Lily realized how much she meant to Remus. Mary had gone to get him, and he had kicked the other girls out, dabbing away her tears.

“Fuck her, Lils,” he had said. “And fuck that bloody arse she’s gone and married too. You don’t need her.”

“She’s my sister!” Lily had exclaimed. “Aren’t I her sister too! Shouldn’t she care about me?”

Remus had pulled her in close then, tight for a hug, and had stroked a hand down her hair.

“If it’s worth anything,” he said, slowly, haltingly, awkwardly. “I think of you as a sister. So, you know, you’re a sister to me. And I care about you.”

Lily’s heart had felt so full then, she was certain it was about to burst. She squeezed Remus even tighter, her arms wrapping around his narrow frame. He was so bony, so thin, and yet so strong. Lily adored him.

“You’re like a brother to me too,” she whispered back. She pulled away then, and looked up at him, beseeching. “I wish you were standing on my side,” she confessed, “and not on that prat James’ side. He doesn’t deserve you.”

Remus blinked at her for a moment before tossing his head back and laughing. Lily grinned at him and he eventually stopped and rolled his eyes, shaking his head fondly.

“You’re right,” he said. “That wanker doesn’t deserve me. I’d be honoured to stand with you, Lils.”

And he had, Mary cheerily shuffling over to take Remus’ side amongst the lads. James had thought it was great, laughing loudly when he saw Remus and Mary swap spots, and Lily had been so happy. She had realized, that day, that she was Remus’, just as he was hers.

Eventually the morning came, and Lily supposed she needed to get up. She was exhausted, and she hated to realize that, as it meant she wasn’t young anymore, and could no longer pull all-nighters. She was practically vibrating that day, as she headed towards the Ministry, eager as anything to see Donna. She drank about four coffees too, which likely also contributing to the vibrating.

She burst into the Hall of Records and practically ran over to Donna.

“Good morning!” she exclaimed, her eyes wide and doing that manic thing she knew they sometimes did. “How, erm, how are you?”

Donna blinked at her a few times before smiling slightly. “I’m well, thank you.”

Lily fidgeted. “So, um. Did you…?”

Donna nodded. “Yes. I’ll take you at lunch, alright?”

Lily couldn’t believe it! She was so close! She nodded enthusiastically and she was fairly certain she had said thank you before wandering off and staring unseeing at the stack of tomes of records. She wasn’t entirely certain how she passed the hours until lunchtime, but she had most likely just drifted around like a ghost. She nodded off at some point on one of the desks, and Donna had woken her with a gentle hand to her shoulder. Lily blinked up at her blearily, before jumping to her feet.

“Now?” she asked, half-eager and half-terrified.

Donna smiled at her.

“Now,” she agreed, and led the way to the designated apparition place a few blocks away from the Ministry. She held her arm out for Lily to grab onto, and the two of them apparated away.

They landed in the country, somewhere, a ways away from the city. There was a small house, with smoke rising from the chimney, and as Lily looked around she could see snow-covered fields stretching out around her. In the summer, she thought, these were likely a brilliant bright green. They probably looked a lot like the rolling green fields in Wales, and the thought gave Lily heart. Maybe he had missed home then. Maybe he did want to go back.

“Go on,” Donna said. “He’s waiting.” Lily’s heart quailed in her chest, but she squared her shoulders and tossed her hair back. She was Lily goddamn Evans (Potter), and not only was she a Gryffindor, but she was a proud member of the Order of the Phoenix, she was someone who had defied Voldemort time and time again. She was Harry’s mother and James’ wife and Remus’ friend and all kinds of things to all kinds of people but most of all she was herself, and Remus had always loved that about her. She took the first step, and then another, over and over until she was at the front door.

She raised her hand to knock, but before she could the door swung open, and there he was, Remus Lupin. His hair was streaked with gray, and she could see a few new scars reaching up his neck. There were a few more wrinkles, a different hairstyle, but it was him, it was Remus, in every single way that mattered.

“Lily?” he whispered, his voice hoarse, his eyes shining. Lily didn’t hesitate, throwing her arms around him. He paused for a moment, somewhat bewildered, and Lily didn’t let go, just tightened her grip until she felt his arms wind around her, holding her just as tight. She buried her head in his shoulders and began to sob as her heart began to soar. She hated crying, but water is cleansing, and sometimes tears don’t hurt, but heal.

“Remus!” she sobbed out. “Remus, Remus, Remus.”

“Lily,” he whispered back, his own tears soaking into her hair. “Lily, Lily, Lily.”

.

After they had stopped crying and had calmed down some, they made their way inside, and Remus put on the kettle. Lily smiled as she looked around his place. It was small, but it was warm, with a fire crackling in the fireplace. She walked over to it, and saw a small framed photo on the mantle, one of her and Remus, arms around each other, prefect badges stuck to their robes. Dorcas had taken that picture, Lily remembered.  It had been the last day of sixth year. Lily had forgotten that. The picture next to it was one of her and James and Sirius and Peter. Remus had taken that picture. Lily frowned at Peter, smiling there, so happy. She wondered what had happened, to make him turn against them. What had they done? It was easy to hate Peter for what he had done, easy for her to remember him as he was now, a Death Eater, a traitor. It was hard to remember Peter as he was then, a friend, a companion, a kid, just like the rest of them. She realized, with a start, that Remus might not know about Peter. She wondered how much he did know. She wondered if he’d ever suspected. She wondered if it would break his heart.

“Here you are,” Remus said, carrying two great mugs of tea into the room. Lily set the picture down and turned towards him, grabbing the tea from his hand and settling down on the couch he gestured to. She smiled at him, and he smiled back.

“I can’t stop smiling,” she confessed. “It’s just so good to see you.”

“You as well,” he replied. “It almost doesn’t feel real.”

Lily took a bracing sip of her tea and set it down. She squared her shoulders, and reminded herself to be brave.

“I’m sorry it took so long, staring him right in the eyes. I’m sorry I left you here.”

Remus set his mug down and leaned forward, grabbing one of her hands and holding it between his own.

“There’s nothing to forgive,” he told her, eyes serious, gaze piercing, stabbing straight through to her soul. “Absolutely nothing.”

Lily could feel tears welling up in her eyes again, and she let them fall. So many things didn’t deserve her tears, but Remus did.

“I should have come looking ages ago.”

Remus shook his head.

“No,” he replied. “No, Lils, don’t blame yourself. I knew the war was over, I could have come home.”

Lily frowned, and pulled her hand back from Remus’, dashing away her tears.

“Why didn’t you?”

Remus sighed and glanced away. He was quiet for a moment, and Lily wanted to ask him again, wanted to push, but kept quiet. Remus was a thinker, an over-thinker, really, and sometimes he needed time before speaking. Lily could be patient, would be patient, and she would give him his time.

“I suppose,” he began slowly, haltingly, “at first I just wanted to be sure. That it was really over, you know? And then it had been so long, and I didn’t know how to go back. I didn’t know what to say, I didn’t know...I didn’t know if there was still a place for me. And then more time passed, and I was scared, and I told myself you had all moved on. And then…” he trailed off, and he looked tired, so tired. His shoulders were slumped, and he looked as though he was carrying the world on them. He looked back up, and his eyes met hers, shining with more tears. “Can you forgive me, Lils?”

Lily didn’t hesitate, lunging forward and flinging her arms around him again. All this time she had been so afraid of Remus being angry with her, so consumed by whether or not he would forgive her, and not once had she ever thought that he might be worrying about the same things.

“You silly berk,” she told him, pressing a kiss into his hair. “There’s nothing to forgive.”

.

It took them a while to calm down again and stop hugging each other, and the two of them slowly caught up, Lily telling Remus about Harry, and her freelancing, and Remus telling her about Canada, and what he had been up to.

“I can’t believe you really came here,” she told him. “Joni’s homeland.”

Remus laughed. “Merlin, what a terrible clue, eh? I was so rushed I couldn’t come up with anything better.”

“No, it was perfect,” she insisted. “Our promise.”

That made him smile. “Joni isn’t even from around here, you know,” he informed her. “She’s from Saskatoon.”

Lily frowned. “Is that far from here?”

Remus laughed. “A little ways away, you could say that. Besides, I wouldn’t recommend going there now, it’s bloody freezing.”

Lily laughed. “We’ll just have to come back sometime. Keep our promise and travel.”

Remus was quiet at that, and Lily glanced at him, the smile slipping from her face.

“Should I…” he trailed off, looking worried. Earlier, Lily had given him time. Time to think, to gather his thoughts, to decide on what to say. Now, though Lily knew time wasn’t what he needed.

“Please come home, Remus,” Lily said. “I’ve missed you dearly.”

.

It was as easy as that, it turned out, to bring Remus Lupin home. He had gathered his things, explaining that Donna owned the house where he lived, that it had been her brother’s before he had died. He had been a werewolf too, Remus had whispered to Lily, and that was a big reason why Donna had taken Remus under her wing. He said goodbye to Donna, who extracted multiple promises from him to write and visit, and then he and Lily were on their way.

One night, while they were in a hotel, Lily gave him a great slobbery kiss and told him it was from James, which made Remus laugh, and then she handed him Sirius’ letter and left the room to go get food and give him some space. When she came back there was an inscrutable look on his face, and she didn’t bring it up again. Lily didn’t know what would happen with them, but she didn’t press it, merely sitting next to him and nudging his shoulder with her own, handing him some takeaway curry. There was time, Lily realized, for them all to figure things out.

Sitting there, in a cheap hotel room with Remus and eating curry, Lily saw her future stretching out in front of her. She saw Harry growing up happy and safe and loved. She saw James and her, growing old together. She saw Sirius, coming for dinner and generally making a nuisance of himself. She saw Remus there too, saw him drinking tea with her, saw him teaching Harry little hexes to use on Sirius and James, saw him there with them all for dinners, saw him safe, and happy, and loved. She saw them all coming together once again, a family reunited, and smiled, the ghosts of their pasts nothing but a distant, forgotten heartache. It looked wonderful and happy and perfect, and she couldn’t wait.

.

It was snowing when they made it back to Godric’s Hollow. They had dropped the Fidelius during their journey back, and Lily had owled James the good news. Lily smiled as she saw her house, all lit up, and realized that it was Christmas Day. She had made it back for the Christmas hols, just as she had told Harry she would. She smiled at the thought of seeing her boy again - boys, really, as James and Sirius were nothing more than great overgrown children, and she glanced over at Remus. He looked nervous, a little terrified, and a little happy. She reached over and grabbed his hand, squeezing it tightly.

“We’re home,” she told him. He looked over at her and smiled.

“It’s good to be home,” he replied, his voice as soft as the falling snow.

They took one step, and then another, and over and over until they reached the door, crossing the threshold and plunging headfirst into the future.


End file.
